A Day for the Cat
by Tales-of-a-Sloth
Summary: The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So Ned and Sally sat in that house, all that cold, wet wet day. Too cold to play ball and to wet to go out, but one cat says fun is what he's about. And Ned and Sally are going to learn it the hard way.
1. Chapter 1: Ned McDodd, the Mayor's Son

_**Horton Hears a Who: A Day with the Cat**_

_**Chapter 1: Ned McDodd, the Mayor's Son**_

--

_Have you ever wondered how Mayor Ned McDodd,_

_One of Whoville's greatest heroes, although just a bit odd,_

_Met the love of his life, Sally_

_The Who whose last name was once O'Malley?_

_Well though together they belong,_

_At first the two did not get along._

_But let's set aside all this bad poetry,_

_And get to the story about how Ned met Sally!_

--

Little 6-year-old Ned McDodd innocently looked back and forth at his near hysterical mother. His head tilted to the side as she scrambled for her things, his big blue eyes following her wherever she went. Cradled in his skinny little arms was his pet goldfish, Thidwick, swimming silently around his fishbowl. Ned's brow furrowed as his mom frantically tried to put on her makeup and best dress.

"Oh, oh dear me. How could I have forgotten tonight, of all nights?!" Mrs. McDodd wailed.

Ned sighed quietly, placing his beloved pet fish on the dining room table and taking a seat. He propped his head upon his hands to watch his silent fish friend swim around.

Apparently Ned's mother had had a dinner meeting planned for her boss tonight, and she had completely forgotten to get everything ready… again. So as always, ever forgetful Mrs. McDodd needed to get everything ready before anyone arrived, getting so wrapped up in her last minute plans that she forgot her poor son was even there.

"Let's see, I'll have to get the entrees! Can't forget the food now, can we?" Mrs. McDodd pulled out a notebook and a pen to jot down some notes, "So that includes Who-cakes, beazlenut drink, green eggs and ham… Am I forgetting anything?"

Ned sighed again and ran his index finger along the surface of the water in Thidwick's fishbowl, making small ripples roll from his finger to the edges with little splashes. The fish stopped to look at the young Who, and affectionately nibbled at Ned's finger. Ned couldn't help but smile to himself.

_So the mother wrote it all down._

_The things she needed to buy were in town._

_She had to mark it._

_She knew what to do. _

"I'll just have to run to the supermarket! Yes, that's what I'll do!"

Her knew task fresh in mind, Mrs. McDodd ran to the door to head off to the supermarket. She was almost halfway out the door when she realized that she had overlooked one important detail.

She had totally forgotten about her son, again.

She slapped her forehead. Barreling back into the house, she scrambled for their neon blue telephone, rapidly punching in the desired phone number. Ned blew a stray brown lock of hair out of his face and looked down at his feet, kicking them back and forth. How his mother could be so forgetful was beyond him.

"Hello? Cassandra? Yes, this is Mrs. McDodd. I need you to watch over my son for a little while." Mrs. McDodd paused to listen to the other end of the line and afterwards sighed in relief, "Yes. Oh thank you. Thank you Cassandra!"

Ned's brow furrowed and he let out a small whine.

Not Cassandra.

Not Cassandra O'Malley. Anyone but her.

Out of all the babysitters in the entire world, Ned was certain that she was without a doubt the worst one of them all. She always treated Ned like he was just some little kid. Well, okay he was a kid, but that was beside the point. And furthermore, she always brought her little sister with her. Ned stuck out his tongue in disgust, remembering what his friends at school had told him about girls having cooties.

Ned walked over with Thidwick in his arms and looked up at his mother, his eyes pleading to her not to leave.

"Mama, please don't let Cassandra come over. I don't like her…" He all but begged.

"Now none of that Ned." She reprimanded, "I'll only be gone for a little while, so I want you to stay here and be a good boy while you wait for Cassandra to get here. Now remember the rules."

Ned resisted the urge to role his eyes. Oh boy, here we go.

"No sweets, no scary movies, and _no_ getting into mischief." Mrs. McDodd emphasized the last rule, making sure that Ned understood.

Ned winced at his mother's stern look, and looked down sadly at his feet. He solemnly nodded, knowing he had no choice but to obey her. Mrs. McDodd smiled as she kneeled down to kiss her son on the forehead before grabbing her purse and heading out the door to the supermarket.

Ned looked after her, his blue eyes wide with hope that she would come right back through that door, babbling about having forgotten something yet again. That hope shattered when he was sure that she wasn't coming back until her errands were done. He sighed again and went into the living room. He set Thidwick's fishbowl on the plush carpeting and lied down on his stomach, watching the fish as he swam around his glass home.

_So for a long time Ned would sit._

_Just sit, sit, sit, sit,_

_And with a sad sigh he'd say,_

"I don't like this, not one little bit."

Poor little Ned just couldn't get a break today. To put it plain and simple, the young mayor's son was just having a bad day, mostly induced by his mother's flighty mind. And guess what?

"MRS. MCDODD!"

It wasn't about to get any better.

Ned nearly jumped out of blue fur, groomed in the shape of a small coat over his tan and brown fur. He picked Thidwick up out of habit and whirled around. He cringed in sheer terror and annoyance. Cassandra O'Malley.

Sure enough, standing in the doorway was a fairly overly peppy-looking teenage Who with long auburn hair tied back in a tight high ponytail and frighteningly bright blue eyes. Her fur was an obnoxious shade of hot pink, groomed unnecessarily to look like a semiformal dress. She wore a smile that could terrify small animals, her teeth shiningly bleached white, and Ned swore that she had on one of her stronger perfumes.

Blegh. He hated her perfumes. They made him want to gag.

"I'm here Mrs. McDodd!" She called in her usual sickly-sweet shrill, "I'm here to watch your precious son!"

"She's not here."

Cassandra perked at the small, nearly non-existent sound. She looked down to see meek little Ned looking up at her with both caution and disdain, Thidwick's bowl held protectively in his arms.

"Beg pardon?" Cassandra asked in her shrill.

"She already left." Ned said with a twinge of annoyance, "You're a little too late."

Cassandra frowned in a pout and snapped her fingers. "Darn it. I was hoping to get a tip before she left with a little brownnosing." She said, her voice now not holding the sickly-sweetness.

Ned resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Same old Cassandra. You can all guess how much of a good babysitter this witch was. Or at least I hope you can, because if not, then the irony of all this is lost on you. We don't want any lost irony, do we now?

"Alright twerp, here's the deal." Cassandra said in a threatening tone, "I don't like you, and you don't like me, so let's make sure we're clear here."

Ned tried to retain his indifferent expression, failing miserably as he was most visibly intimidated by his ruthless babysitter's towering stature, as Cassandra kneeled down to above his height.

"I'm just here to make some dough, and I wanna make this experience as painless as possible. So like always; no noise, no snacks, no TV, no fun. Got it?"

Ned resisted the urge to run in terror, not exactly comfortable with Cassandra standing about two inches away from his face. He quickly nodded, backing up a few steps. Cassandra smirked and stood up full height, dwarfing the six-year-old.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other."

The sinister babysitter smirked and walked past the mayor's son into the living room where the television was. Ned sighed and blew a little bit of his brown mop of hair out of his face. He then made his way to the large winding staircase, up to his room where he would most likely spend the rest of the evening.

"Oh! And before I forget…" Cassandra began, catching Ned's attention, "Make sure my twerp of a sister doesn't get into trouble, alright?"

Ned's pupils shrunk and his eye widened in fear. Oh no. Please, someone tell the poor boy that Cassandra didn't bring her little sister with her.

"Cassie!"

Aw clover puffs.

Ned whirled around, coming face-to-face with a young 5-year-old Who girl with long auburn hair, pulled into a high ponytail like Cassandra, and with half of her bangs combed back out of her face. She had a cute button nose, large chocolate brown eyes, and had her fur groomed to look like she was wearing a pair of orange overalls with a yellow shirt underneath.

_And there she stood,_

_Just as pretty as could be._

_There stood the one, the only,_

_Miss Sally O'Malley._

Ned's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets, his knees beginning to knock. The adorable face of Sally O'Malley was staring straight back at him, scaring the poor boy out of his wits. He clutched Thidwick's fishbowl closer to his chest and swallowed a large lump in his throat, fighting down a sudden rush of red and heat in his cheeks.

Sally barely took any notice as she turned to pout at her older sister. "I told you to wait for me Cassie."

"You're slower than molasses Sally." Cassandra waved an uncaring hand, "I had to get going or else there'd be no tip, and unfortunately because of your lolly-gagging, there was none."

Young Sally rolled her eyes. "Oh, so sorry." She said sarcastically, which was rather rare for a Who of her young age.

Cassandra paid her bright little sister no heed as she went back into the living room, prepared for a free afternoon of "babysitting", or in her case just sitting on her lazy rear while watching TV.

Sally shook her head at her irresponsible older sister and turned around, facing Ned. Ned let out a small squeak and turned his attention to his shoes. Sally blinked, having just noticed Ned for the first time. She smiled warmly held out her hand to Ned, who nearly jumped three feet in the air in surprise.

"Well hey there. You must be Ned, the Mayor's son. I'm Sally. Sally O'Malley!" She said with a chipper smile.

Ned thought he'd melt right on the spot. On the one hand, he was absolutely petrified to see a girl, Sally O'Malley none-the-less in front of him, but on the other… he couldn't help but stare in pure awe at the angel standing before him.

"Uh, u-uh…"

You see, Ned and Sally's parents had enrolled the two kids into the same elementary school, which was where Ned had first laid his eyes on Sally. He couldn't say he particularly liked Sally, mostly because she made his insides turned outside and he knew as well as any other Who boy that Who girls have cooties, but at the same time there was something about Sally that not only scared Ned, but left him speechless.

"What's the matter?" Sally grinned, pressing a finger to Ned's lips, "Cat got your tongue?"

Petrified, Ned felt his cheeks go red hot, and began mumbling non-sequitors as he clutched tighter to Thidwick's fishbowl, as if it were the poor boy's only life-line. Sally slowly lowered her finger, her grin widening into another smile, her hands tucked behind her back in a rather cute way.

Ned stood there, completely mesmerized by the sudden glow he noticed surrounding Sally, but then he quickly shook his head of those thoughts and looked back down at his feet in embarrassment. Sally only giggled at Ned's antics. Thidwick looked back and forth between his master and Sally, scratching his head with his fin.

It was then that the two children and fish jumped in a start at a loud noise, like coins grinding in a blender. Sally plugged her ears, her teeth grinding from the vulgarity of the sound. Ned wished that he could do the same, but he was holding Thidwick and preferred not to have shattered glass, water and his pet fish all over the carpet. So Ned just grimaced and scrunched up his face, wishing he had some earplugs.

"Ugh! What's that awful sound?!" Sally wailed.

Ned turned to his left and deadpanned.

He pointed. "There's your answer."

Sally looked at him and then followed his finger, deadpanning once she saw what he saw. Indeed the answer was where Ned was pointing, for he was pointing at none other than Cassandra, snoozing on the couch with the TV on, drool hanging from the side of her mouth. Goodness she was a loud snorer. Her snores were loud enough to wake the dead.

The two children looked at each other, and couldn't help but snicker.

"Well, that's my sister for ya!" Sally said between giggles.

"No kidding." Ned nodded with a laugh.

Ned's laughter was cut short when Sally grabbed his hand, freezing him on contact. Ned stared wide-eyed at the Who standing before him, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"W-wha…?" Ned managed to squeak.

"Let's go have some fun while Cassie's out cold." Sally's smirk only widened.

Ned found himself unable to respond, an inner conflict going on in his head. Either he could run away and live another day embarrassment-free, or he could agree to follow her and let himself be humiliated by the girl.

Decisions, decisions.

Sally didn't wait for a reply and simply tugged on Ned's hand, forcing the six-year-old to follow behind her. A black expression on his face, Ned followed her like an obedient dog, his arm still wrapped around Thidwick's fishbowl

_So a smirk on her face left him speechless._

_The two went outside to play. _

_But little did the two young Who's guess_

_Something interesting would happen on that day._

--

Wow. Really random fandom, no? 0.0; Heh heh, guess I have some explaining to do, but then again I guess that's a given. You see… a while back, I went to see _Horton Hears a Who!_ in theaters, and I absolutely _fell in love_ with the movie. I'd have to say that Mayor Ned McDodd and Horton the Elephant are by far my two favorite characters. XD Those two made me laugh so much.

So now I'm also obsessed with this pairing of the Mayor and his wife, Sally O'Malley Mcdodd. Seriously, those two are so good and cute together. Blame it on **Cheesecakery**'s awesome fanfics and **jsterwartsintern**'s awesome art.

Now, for all my friends out there, I plan on finishing this as well as another story I'm working on, but don't worry. I haven't forgotten my other stuff either. This is just something I really wanted to write. Oh, and if there are any misspellings, please inform me. I try to find them all, but every now and then one little bugger manages to get through. XP But I ramble :)

_Disclaimer: I neither own Horton Hears a Who, nor the characters within it. They all belong to either Blue Skies Animation or the amazing Dr. Seuss._

Read and Review!


	2. Chapter 2: Tut Tut, Looks Like Rain

**_Horton Hears a Who: A Day with the Cat_**

_**Chapter 2: Tut Tut, Looks Like Rain**_

--

_The last time we met_

_Young Sally and Ned,_

_They had escaped the sitter,_

_A sneaky escape plan from Sally's head._

_They ran off to the park,_

_The young couple of Whos,_

_Where they were having a fun time…_

_Well, at least of one the twos._

--

Ned checked himself thoroughly, confused to a high degree. He had no fever, his skin wasn't melting off, and he didn't feel sick or anything, save for the butterflies in his stomach. And yet, he had touched Sally's hand. Sally was a girl. Girls had cooties. If you do the math, then that means that he should have cooties too. So why wasn't turning into some kind of Frankenstein monster right now?

Ned couldn't fathom it.

Ned pondered this as he watched Sally swing back and forth of the swing set in the Whoville central park, laughing every time she went just a little higher and having a grand time. Ned himself was just sitting on a bench, his hands folded over his lap and Thidwick's fishbowl set next to him.

After knowing her for only a short time, Ned had come to realize a few things about Sally. For one thing, she was rather intelligent for a girl her age. I mean, she was only five and she already knew how to swing on the swing set all by herself. Even Ned couldn't do that yet, and he was a whole year older than her… Well, okay maybe half a year.

Another thing about her that Ned had come to realize was that she was not only intelligent, but clever. She had learned how to sneak out under her older sister's watch and manage to escape unscathed. Guess when you live with an older sister as conniving and rude as Cassandra, you have to pick up on a few things.

And then there was that peculiar golden glow that Sally gave off ever other time Ned would look at her. He wondered if all girls gave off that kind of glow. He shook his head. No that was silly. He had never seen any other girl glow like that. His mom never glowed like that at least. Moms were girls, right?

"Hey!"

Ned jumped at the voice and shook himself of his thoughts, turning his attention to Sally, who had stopped swinging to wave at him.

"C'mon and swing with me Ned!" She called.

Ned gulped. Should he? He was still a little worried about the cootie factor. He shrugged his shoulders and shyly looked down at his feet, kicking them back and forth. Maybe he should just stay there on the bench.

Sally cocked her head to the side curiously. She then smiled and got out of her seat on the swing. She ran over to him and grabbed his hand, making him yelp in surprise.

"Cone on silly. Now's not the time to just sit around and mope." She smiled. Ned blushed red on the spot.

She tugged on his arm, forcing him to fall off the bench and nearly fall on his face if it weren't for Sally. She then proceeded to drag a protesting and reluctant Ned to the swings. Ned made sure to grab Thidwick's bowl before getting dragged too far away from the bench.

"Let's enjoy the time we have outside!" Sally said with a smile that made Ned's knees go weak.

"O-okay." He stuttered.

She let go of Ned's hand to sit in the first swing and grabbed one of the chains for the second one, motioning Ned to take a seat in it. Ned gulped and obeyed, worried that if he denied her, he'd hurt her feelings. He set Thidwick between them and shakily grabbed the chains on the swing, taking his seat. He looked to Sally, who nodded in approval and went back to swinging.

Ned grimaced as he watched, realizing there was a fatal flaw in joining Sally for swinging. He didn't know how to do so by himself yet. He was always used to his mother pushing him. He looked back at Sally and watched her for a moment. He was amazed by how high she was, having just started a few seconds beforehand. He observed her carefully as she kicked her feet back when sailing backwards, and shooting them back up when going forwards.

Legs back for going backwards and back up in front for forwards. Seemed simple enough.

_Now wasn't the time to be shy._

_Ned McDodd was going to show he could try. _

_Our young hero may be quiet,_

_And to have fun with Sally, he was willing to try it. _

Ned took a deep breath to steel his nerves, and started kicking his feet like back to go forwards. Now, based on the information gathered from Sally's swinging, that should have worked, but Ned forgot to take one important fact into account before barreling headfirst into this. He wasn't exactly the most coordinated kid in the world. As a matter of fact, the poor boy pretty much had two left feet.

Having kicked back and forth so hard, Ned began to losing his footing, or seating in this case. He screamed out in a start and fell face first onto the ground with a loud THUD.

"Oh my gosh!" Sally gasped.

She skidded to a stop and jumped from her seat to Ned's side. Ned lifted his head and spat out a mouthful of dirt and grass. Yuck.

"Ned, are you okay?" She asked.

Ned's response was only a small nervous laugh and a nod. Sally smirked as Ned looked up at her, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Sally stretched out her hand and helped Ned to his feet. Luckily for him, his landing had been cushioned by the uncut grass.

Sally smirked. "You're not very good at swinging, are you?"

Ned blushed beat red and went back to rubbing the back of his neck, wondering why in the world he had made himself look so foolish in front of Sally. Sally only giggled and grasped his hand again.

"Don't worry. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Sally reassured, "Would you like me to teach you?"

"N-no thanks!" Ned furiously shook his head, not wanting to embarrass himself in public again. Sally frowned in disappointment, but then her frowned changed back into a smile. She took her seat in the swing again.

"Well then, how 'bout you just push me?" Sally offered.

Ned looked up at her in bewilderment for a moment. Then he made a small smile and nodded. He walked behind Sally, ready and waiting to do his part.

"Ready?" He asked.

Sally nodded. "Yep!"

And with a quick kick start, Sally took off once more. Ned waited for her to come sailing backwards before giving her a gentle push forward. Sally giggled in delight as she went higher and higher with Ned's help. Ned couldn't help but smile. Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all.

_So for the first time that day_

_Ned was having fun as they played,_

_But it was then the life saw_

_To be cruel and sadistic with Murphy's Law. _

It was then that Ned felt something wet hit the top of his head. This caught his attention. He ran a hand through his mop of brown hair and looked up at the sky. His brow furrowed when he saw that gray clouds were forming in the sky. A few droplets of water fell on his face making him flinch. Sally looked back when she noticed Ned wasn't pushing her anymore. She once again stopped herself and looked up at the sky along with Ned, her brow furrowing when she saw the grey clouds above them.

"Aw no, rain!" Sally whined.

Sure enough, Sally was right. After only a few minutes, it began to drizzle. Hopefully it would let up soon, but there was no such luck for our young couple here.

Ned picked up Thidwick's bowl as the drizzle picked up, and grabbed Sally's hand, telling her with his eyes that they should head back. Sally sighed sadly and had no choice but to comply.

"Man… and I was hoping it was going to be a fun and sunny day." Sally said in complaint.

The two young Whos left the park, walking back to Ned's house in silence. They quickened their pace when the rain picked up. After only a few minutes, it was really coming down. Of all the days for the weatherman to be right about a downpour.

"Oh no! Fur's getting soaked!" Sally wailed.

Ned didn't reply as he was focusing on running between the water droplets. He clutched Thidwick's bowl tighter when the wind picked up, making the poor boy shiver from the cold. Ned saw other Whos holding up umbrellas to keep them dry, and couldn't help but be a tad jealous.

It was then that Mother Nature decided to have a little fun with Ned and Sally.

_Kraka-boom!_

"AAH!" Sally and Ned screamed in fright.

Thunder and lightning. So typical, no?

Desperate to get out of the downpour, Ned grabbed Sally's hand and made a mad sprint down the sidewalk. Gasping for air, the two terrified children ran against the wind and rain, jumping over puddles to reach their destination.

_So the rain came down._

_Oh, how hard it came down_

_As our two little heroes _

_Ran through the town!_

Sally smiled widely when she saw a welcomed familiar sight.

"There it is!" She exclaimed.

Ned smiled in relief as well when he saw his house. They had made it! With the last bit of their energy, the two children made a mad dash up Ned's driveway and up to the front door. Without a second thought, Ned lifted the welcome mat, grabbed the keys underneath and scrambled to unlock the door. Once the tumblers had clicked, Ned threw the front door open and ran inside with Sally on his heels.

Relief flooding his senses, Ned nearly dropped Thidwick as he fell to his knees and collapsed on the plush carpeting of his living room. His lungs were on fire, his feet were killing him from all that running, and he was soaked to the bone. Regardless, he never felt so happy to be home in his entire life. Sally soon followed Ned's example and fell on her backside, taking deep breaths.

The two exhausted children were silent for a moment, save for their heavy breathing. That silence was shattered by a small sound. It started low, but then it started to grow. Ned raised an eyebrow. It kind of sounded like… laughter. Ned looked up for a moment, his eyes widening. Sure enough, Sally, flat on her back, was laughing near hysterically at who knew what. Ned raised a worried eyebrow.

"Uh… Sally?" Ned asked, "Are you alright?"

Sally noticed Ned's expression, and stopped her giggle fit for a moment. She raised one hand and wave it back and forth, the other clamped over her mouth.

"I-I… I'm sorry Ned… b-but… y-you look so funny!" And with that, Sally went into another fit of hysterical laughter.

Ned blinked in surprise. What did she mean by that? When Ned got a good look at himself, he understood what Sally was talking about. His fur was completely soaked and sticking up in weird places. He looked like a drowned rat. With any luck, his fur was going to get all matted. Blushing like mad, Ned was yet again thoroughly embarrassed. But then he looked at Sally and smirked slyly.

"Well, at least I'm not the only one." Ned pointed.

Sally calmed her laughter to look at Ned in confusion. She followed Ned's finger to where he was pointed, and blushed bright red. Indeed Ned wasn't alone, for Sally's fur was in the same condition, if not worse than Ned's. Sally looked up at Ned sheepishly, but then she smirked slyly as well.

_So Ned had her pinned._

_He had jousted with good right,_

_But Sally O'Malley wasn't about to _

_Give in without a fight._

"Well, at least I wasn't scared of a little thunder." She chided.

Ned raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" Ned asked.

"You were scared when that thunder cracked. Admit it!" Sally laughed.

"What?!" Ned's face turned even brighter shade of red, "Nuh-uh! I was not!"

"Oh yes you were!" Sally snapped playfully.

"Oh no I wasn't!" Ned got into Sally's face.

"Oh yes you were!" Sally mimicked Ned's tactics.

"Oh no, I wasn't!"

"Oh yes you were!"

"Oh no, I wasn't!"

"Oh yes you were!"

"So were you!" Ned pointed a finger between Sally's eyes, making her cross them to look at his hand.

There was a thick silence hat hung in the air. Sally was completely stunned by Ned's actions. Heck, he himself was stunned. He had never known he could stand up for himself like that. Now Ned felt ashamed. He had managed yet again to embarrass himself in front of Sally. Why? Why did he have to make himself look like a big idiot in front of her? Man, he felt awkward.

_Was she mad? _

_Or was she not?_

_You could never really tell _

_With that young Who tot._

Ned felt so ashamed. Now Sally was probably mad at him, and wouldn't want to hang out with him anymore. That shattered Ned's poor little heart. He was hoping that he and Sally were friends after she had let him push her on the swings. Now there wasn't any chance of that happening with Sally being mad at him. She was going to yell at him for his, he was sure of it.

But then Sally did something that Ned had never expected. She smiled and stuck her tongue out playfully at him.

"Okay, so I was." Sally giggled.

Ned blinked. Did this mean that Sally wasn't mad at him? Did this mean that she still wanted to play with him?

Sally stood up and looked down at a bewildered Ned. Sally couldn't help but smile warmly at him. He looked so cute when he was confused! She reached out a hand to help him up, which confused Ned even further.

His brow furrowed. "Does this mean you're not mad?" He asked in a small voice.

Sally blinked. "Mad? Of course not. Why would I be mad?"

Ned didn't answer, but only smiled and seemed to sigh in relief, which confused Sally for only a minute. She smiled when he reached his hand out. She took it and helped him up. The two children just stood there for a moment, unable to find anything to say during the awkward silence. Ned didn't really notice or mind though, being too relieved to hear that Sally was still his friend… sort of.

"So…" Sally began, flicking a bit of Ned's sodden brown locks out of his face, "Do you have any towels?"

Ned blinked, and then slapped his forehead. "Oh! U-uh, right! I'll go get them for you!"

And with that, Ned dashed off to get some towels for him and Sally, leaving the other young Who completely stunned. She then jumped when she heard very loud and familiar snoring. She turned to see Cassie, who was still out cold on the couch with the TV on.

Sally rolled her eyes. "Typical."

--

Later, Ned found Sally sitting patiently in a chair set in front of one of the windows at the front of his house. He was surprised to see her looking curiously at Thidwick's fishbowl, set neatly on another chair right next to it. He didn't remember putting him there. He smiled when she laughed at Thidwick's swimming. Guess she had put him there.

"I'm back. Sorry if it took so long." Ned said as he handed her a fresh towel.

Sally shook her head as she accepted it. "You didn't take long at all."

As the two children toweled off, Sally couldn't help but stare a little at Ned. She had seen him plenty of times at Whoville Elementary, but had never ally got the chance to talk to him. It's not that she didn't want to, but her friends had always said that Ned as a stuck up and arrogant brat, being the Mayor's son and all, and that he wouldn't talk to anyone because he thought he was so much better than they were. At first, Sally had believed them since he didn't talk much around others, but now that she had gotten a chance to really get to know him… she had realized that he was a really sweet boy. A little quiet and uncoordinated, but still sweet. Charming even. She then shook her head of those thoughts, feeling her cheeks get a little warm. Was she getting a fever?

"Ah… man I needed that." Sally sighed once her fur was completely dry.

Ned looked up, and smiled at Sally. She smiled right back.

_Kraka-boom!_

"AAH!"

Mother Nature, now that was just unfair. Why must you be so cruel to these two children?

Ned and Sally shakily tried to calm themselves down, scared out of their minds from the thunder clap. It was then that the two realized that they were hugging each other, most likely induced from the fear of thunder the two had. They looked at each other, and then started blushing like mad. They quickly let go of each other, Ned clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"Uh… sorry about that." Sally muttered, her face scarlet red.

"D-don't mention it." Ned stuttered, feeling faint.

After that awkward scene, Sally looked out the window, not able to see anything through the now even heavier downpour. She pouted.

"Well, so much for our sunny afternoon at the park." Sally sighed.

Ned let the blush recede and shrugged. "Well, there's always tomorrow."

Sally smiled at him. "It's a date then?"

Ned felt himself freeze in place, his eye widened and his jaw slacked at those words. Date? A date? With Sally O'Malley? Someone pinch him.

"U-uh… okay." Ned finally squeaked.

Sally giggled. She then looked out the window, and leaned up closer to it. Ned sat in the chair next to her, making sure to take Thidwick off first and set his bowl on his lap, and leaned up to the window as well.

_The sun did not shine._

_It was too wet to play._

_So they sat in the house_

_All that cold, cold, wet day._

So time passed, and the rain kept falling. The two children sighed, now thoroughly bored out of their minds. Ned sighed, and Sally mimicked him. Even Thidwick sighed from the boredom.

_Ned sat there with Sally._

_They sat there, those two._

_And he said _

"…I wish that we had something to do."

Sally nodded in agreement. "Me too."

The quiet and the lack of anything to do were driving the two children stir crazy. Eventually Sally just groaned and smacked her read against the windowpane.

"It's too wet to go out." She grumbled.

"And way too cold to play ball." Ned groaned in agreement.

_So they sat in the house. _

_They did nothing at all._

Now Ned was the one who smacked his head against the window, repeating the action of banging his head against the windowsill. Sally looked at him dryly and looked back out the window, her eyelids half-closed.

"Be careful. You may not be able to stop if you keep that up." Sally said dully.

Ned lifted his head, "I don't know if I can take much more of this." He wailed.

Sally looked up at the clock. She raised an eyebrow. Now Sally and Ned hadn't been at the park for very long, and it hadn't been raining for very long either, but it shouldn't have taken her more than half an hour just to go to the supermarket. That was just plain ridiculous.

"What's taking your mom so long?" Sally asked.

"Oh…" Ned blew his lips outwards in a sigh, "She's really scatter-brained. She might have gone to ever store in Whoville if she needed to get something."

"I see." Sally deadpanned.

Suddenly, from out of the blue came a loud BUMP. The bump was so loud, it made Sally and Ned nearly jump out of their seats. Sally and Ned looked around frantically, searching for the source of such an odd sound. They then turned to face each other.

"Did you hear that?" Sally asked.

"Yep." Ned nodded.

"Good. I thought it was just me." Sally said as she went back to searching.

_There was another BUMP, _

_Making Ned and Sally jump. _

_As they turned 'round once more_

_They found it coming from the front door. _

Slowly but surely, Sally and Ned carefully slipped out of their seats. They tip-toed as quietly as possible, and peaked their heads out into the hallway. Ned's head was on top, Sally's was next, and Thidwick in his bowl was on the bottom. What they saw at the front door was a tall figure in a rain soaked poncho hidden by shadows, giving it daunting and ominous aura.

Ned gulped. That was most definitely not his mother. This worried Ned. What if it was a burglar? Or worse, a kidnapper? The very thought made Ned start to shiver in terror. He had to get Sally and him out of there and call WHO-1-1. He needed to get Cassie up too, as much as he hated to admit it.

But it was then that Ned felt a presence behind him and turned around to see Sally shivering in terror as well. Ned was rather surprised by this, since Sally seemed like such a brave young girl up until now, but then again he really couldn't blame her. Who wouldn't be freaked to find Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary standing at the door step? When he saw Sally looking at him for with her big brown eyes, Ned blinked in surprise, but then he puffed out his chest and steeled his eyes. Now was not the time to be a coward. Sally was depending upon him.

Taking a deep breath for fortification, Ned slinked along to walls, inching closer and closer to the door where the figure stood. Sally slowly followed after him, not wanting Ned o go in alone. Ned and Sally then walked down the middle of the hallway, Thidwick in Ned's arms, up to behind the stranger. Ned swallowed a fearful lump in his throat and shakily grabbed onto the trim of the figure's poncho.

"U-uh… excuse me?" Ned said meekly with a tug of the figure's poncho.

The two nearly jumped out of their skin when the figure stood up at full height and turned around to face them. In one swift motion, he pulled off his poncho, revealing his true form.

Ned and Sally's jaws dropped.

_They looked._

_Then they saw him step in on the mat._

_They looked,_

_And they saw him._

_The Cat in the Hat._

--

Dun-Dun-DUUUUN! XD Enters the Cat. Now does the title of the fic make sense? I love the parallels in his story with the Cat in the Cat. For example, Thidwick (:3), Sally being the name of both Ned's future wife and the little sister in the book, and (if you paid attention in the movie) there was a scene where Nedwas unscrewing the chandelier that hung over his and Sally's bed, afraid it would fall on top him and his wife. As he stacked up various things to reach up to the chandelier, there was a bit where he grabbed an umbrella and bent it slightly. That same umbrella is the one the Cat carries in when he enters the story… XD I pay way too much attention to detail.

Shameless Ned and Sally fluff at the beginning. I have no regrets. :D I actually had a lot of fun with Ned and Sally in the park.

Again, if there are any major spelling errors or grammatical mistakes in this chapter, please let me know. Thank you :D

_Disclaimer: I do not own Horton Hears a Who! or The Cat in the Hat. They are the rightful property of Dr. Seuss._

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